For immediate release
December 14, 2005
Licking Memorial Hospital (LMH) is one of the few hospitals nationwide to earn the ISO 9001:2000 certification. This certification serves as a basis to improve quality awareness and employees’ understanding of roles and responsibilities.
ISO 9000 has been around for almost 20 years. It was not until the year 2000 that the standard was significantly modified. It is no longer just a manufacturing standard. The ISO 9001:2000 requires:
• A process approach;
• Customer focus; and
• Continual Improvement.
LMH started working toward the ISO 9001:2000 certification approximately one year ago. “Although we have been constantly looking at our quality of care for many years, we were able to define key interfaces between processes, departments and staff to streamline work flow and maximize resource utilization while working toward the ISO certification,” said Bill Andrews, LMH President.
“Our goal with the ISO 9001:2000 certification is to proactively prevent problems from occurring and provide ways to detect and correct errors and problems to ensure conformance to and effectiveness of documented processes,” said Rob Montagnese, Executive Vice President.
The ISO 9001:2000 certification addresses communication and empowers employees to establish consistent operations and processes. “We focused on patient and provider needs and expectations while working on the ISO 9001:2000 certification,” reported Debbie Young, Vice President of Patient Care Services. “In addition, the ISO certification process will lead to enhanced patient safety and customer satisfaction.”
To attain the ISO 9001:2000 certification, LMH underwent a week-long audit, and several staff members in many areas participated in interviews with the auditors from Smithers Quality Assessments, Inc. During the audit, LMH received many positive comments from the auditors and observers relative to their findings. It was expressed that the employees exhibited a thorough knowledge, not only of their particular specialty area, but also of how it connected to the LMH quality management system.
“We’re proud of our staff and physicians who work hard to provide quality patient care,” said Bill Andrews. “We plan on celebrate internally with our employees the honor of being one of the few health care organizations nationwide to become ISO 9001:2000 certified.”
Licking Memorial Hospital has served the medical needs of Licking County residents since it was founded in 1898. The 231-bed facility utilizes nearly 150 staff physicians and more than 1,200 additional clinical and support staff to meet the health care needs of the community. Licking Memorial Hospital was named one of the nation's Top 100 Hospitals for 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. For more information, visit www.LMHealth.org.
Contact: Carol Hutchison
Public Relations
740-348-1564
chutchison@LMHealth.org